Support for dress-forms.



W. E. HUMB.

SUPPORT FOR DRESS FORMS.

APPLICATION FILED DB0. 1a, 1912.

1,080,91 1. Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

maman srarns refinar lonirica.

VIALTER E. HUI/IE, OF EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIG'NOR 0F ONE-HALF TO JACQUES POLLAK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SUPPORT FOR DRESS-FORMS.

Application led. December 18, 1912.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that l, WALTER E. HUME, of East Rutherford, Bergen county, New Jersey, have invented a new and useful 1mprovement in Supports for Dress-Forms, of which the following isk a full, clear, and exact description. u

My invention relates to improvements 1n dress forms, and the general object of my invention is to produce an inexpensive and simple support which can be applied to any usual or preferred dress form, and which will support the form insuch a manner that it can be easily adjusted vertically, automatically locked in its position, can be turned freely to bring any part of the dress in view or within easy access, and which can be readily moved.

More specifically, my invention is intended to produce a support for forms of this character which will obviate some of the difficulties generally found in adjustable supports for dress forms. With most vertically adjustable supports of this character, a fastening device is used to fix the height of the form, and this usually comes beneath the skirt or skeleton framework of the form, so that it is difficult to get at the fastening means, and moreover when the dress is on the form, it musses and sometimes injures the fabric, to be compelled yto raise or wrinkle it in order to reach the fastening device.

In my improved form, the fastening means is located below the skirt and near the pedestal which supports the structure, and moreover, it is of such a nature that the fastening is released by the simple grip of the fingers on a lever, after which the form can be raised or lowered to the desired height, and by releasing the finger grip, the structure is automatically locked.

A further advantage of my improvement is that the weight of the dress form serves to keep the device locked so that the height of the form is not changed, while the form can be raised and lowered by releasing the mechanism, and the latter will automatically iX itself, as above stated.

Other advantages will appear clearly from the description which follows.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specifi- Speccaton of Letters Patent.

`Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

serial No. 737,492.

cation, in which similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the dress form mounted on my improved support. Fig. 2 is a broken vertical section very much enlarged, of the fastening means. Fig. 3 is a cross section looking up on the line 3-3 of Fig. Q, and Fig. /1 is a detail cross section on the line 1e-4: of Fig. 3.

The dress form 10 can be of any `usual shape or construction, and it is shown provided with a skirt portion 10a, this being simply indicated in dotted lines, as it can be a wire framework, or any suitable skeleton structure. The dress form 10 is supported as usual on a pedestal or base 11, and the parts embodying my invention are the adjustable connections between the form 10 and the pedestal 11. Rising from thepedestal 11 is a tubular member 12 which is vertically slotted as shown at 13 in Fig. 2, to provide for the movement of the releasing lever hereinafter described. Within the tubular member 12 is a slide block 14 which is movable up and down in said tubular member, and which has a reduced tubular portion 14a on its upper side, over which its the extension member or tube 15 which at the top terminates in a iange 16 adapted to be .firmly screwed or otherwise fastened to the base of the form 10. 1t will be seen that this arrangement permits the form 10 and member 15 to be moved up and down with relation to the base tube or member 12, and that the member 15, together with the form 10 thereon, can turn freely on the eX- tension or journal 141 of the block 14. In this connection attention is called to the fact that the bottom 17 of the base 10, is usually of wood or some material which permits a ready fastening of the flange 16 thereto.

In the lower part of the extension tube 15 is secured a collar 1S having a reduced under side which extends downward intothe journal 14a, and on the under side of the eXtension to the collar 18 is a cap or socket member 19, which is secured by a bolt 19a and which fits beneath the shoulder 19b of the journal member 14a, so that the collarv 18 will not be lifted from the part lila. Fitting into the socket member 19 is a spiral spring 20, the lower end of whichpresses upon the conical wedge 21 which is movable downward between the beveled edges 22 of the cam blocks or gripping members 28, so that the cone or wedge spreads said gripping members and forces their outer roughened edges 24 into close contact with the inner wall of the tubular member 12, thus xing the position of the slide block 14, and preventing the dropping of the extension tube 15 and the form 10 carried thereby. The cam blocks or gripping members 23 are oppositely arranged, and are pivoted as shown at 25 in the slotted portions of the block 14, and the lower portions of the gripping members 28 are pushed together by the spring 26 which is arranged between them. rlherefore, when the wedge 21 is raised, the spring 26 acting on the members 23, will swing their upper portions inward so as to permit the ready sliding of the block 14. Attached to the slide block 14 and projecting outward through the slot 13, is a rigid arm 27 which serves as a finger grip, and immediately below this is a releasing lever 28 which eX- tends through the slotted part of the block 14 and is pivoted as shown at 29. A pin 30 can be arranged below the lever 28, to limit its downward movement. It will be seen then that by gripping the arm or abutment 27 and the lever 28, and raising the lever, the latter strikes the lower end of the wedge 21, thus raising it out of contact with the gripping blocks or cam blocks 23 and permitting the teeth of said cam blocks to be released from the wall of the tubular member 12. Then by means of the abutment 27 and lever 28, the slide block 14, tube 15, and form 10 can be raised or lowered as desired, while the releasing of the lever 28 immediately locks the fastening means, because the weight of the form 10 will push downward on the tube 15, and the spring 2O will force the wedge 21 firmly between the gripping blocks or members 23, thereby locking the slide block and supported parts.

By reference to F ig. 2 it will be seen that there is a little play between the parts 19 and 19h, and between the lower end of the tube 15 and the block 14, so as to allow for this vertical action. It will be noticed that the wedge 21 is virtually an extension of the reduced part of the collar 18, and that the device would work well even though the spring 2O were omitted, but l prefer to have this resilient member as a backing for the lock wedge, because in this case there is an easier action, and the lever 28 when raised, simply has to compress the spring in the first instance, after which the form can be raised or lowered as desired.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have designed a very simple and positive locking device, that is located below any part of the form or skirt thereon so that the device can be very easily operated, and that the structure locks automatically. It

will be further noticed that the support is located wholly below the form 10 and is secured to the bottom thereof, thus making a convenient means of attachment and making the device less expensive than those structures in which the supporting means are extended upward into the body portion of the form. It will also be observed that the form can be readily turned, as the tube 15 and collar 18 will turn freely with the form, while the member 12 and pedestal 11 remain stationary.

I claim 1. A dress form support comprising a base, a tubular and longitudinally slotted member supported on the base, a second member sliding in and protruding from the top of the lower member, said second member being arranged to support a dress form, a locking device carried at the lower part of the second member and adaptedvto automatically lock the two members together, and handle mechanism protruding through t-he slot of the first member and arranged to control the locking device and slide the second member.

2. A dress form support comprising a lower tubular member having a longitudinal slot therein, a slide block movable up and down in the said tubular member, a locking device to secure the slide block to the said tubular member, means extending through the slot in the tubular member for releasing the slide block, an inner extension member rotatably mounted on the slide block and projecting from the upper end of the tubular member, and means for securing the extension member to a dress form.

8. A dress form support comprising a lower tubular member, an upper member extending into the tubular member and adapted to support a dress form, a slide block movable up and down in the lower member, opposed gripping blocks mounted on the slide block and adapted to engage the walls of the tubular member, a wedge member carried by the aforesaid extension member and adapted to force the gripping blocks into firm contact with the walls of the tubular member and handle mechanism sliding in a slot of the tubular member and operatively connected with the slide block and wedge to move the block and release the wedge.

4. A dress form support comprising a longitudinally slotted tubular member, an extension member sliding in and projecting from the top of the tubular member and adapted to support a dress form, Va slide block movable in the tubular member and serving as a journal for the extension member, opposed gripping blocks carried by the slide block and adapted to engage the walls of the lower member, a wedge carried by the extension member and adapted to enter between the gripping blocks, and e, lever mounted in the slide block and projecting through the slot in the lower member, said lever being adapted to raise the aforesaid wedge.

5. A dress form support comprising a longitudinelly slotted lower member, a slide block movable up and down in said lower member, an extension member projecting from the upper part of the lower member and adapted to support a dress form, said extension member being rotatably mounted on the slide block, opposed gripping members carried by the slide block and adapted to engage the wall of said lower member, a collar within the extension member, e wedge below the collar adapted to enter between the gripping blocks, a resilient backing for the wedge, and e lever pivoted on the slide block and projecting through the slot in the lower member to raise the said wedge.

WALTER E. HUME. Witnesses:

WARREN B. HUTCHINSON, ARTHUR G. DANNELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

